What a first Sunday we had. The fantasy football stars came to play. If you drafted Jefferson, Kelce, Saquon, A.J. Brown, Dillon, and Hurts with your top six picks, you are on top of the world. Enjoy your Week 1 victory, and let’s see if that bench needs any support.
On the other hand, if you drafted Ekeler, Kamara, Pitts, Williams, Kittle, and Brady, you have seen better days, and allow me to aid you in your quest for the first win of the year.
Fantasy football is a game of individual weeks strung out over 14 weeks. Now that we have our first week in the books, player roles have begun to take shape. Can you guide your roster to more wins than losses as a manager? Let us parse through the wire and find players that can help you along the way.
(We will be using ESPN and only recommending players on less than 50% of rosters.)
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds of the Week
Darrell Henderson – rostered in 46.1% of ESPN leagues. Spend up to 20% of your FAAB on henderson.
On Thursday, Darrell Henderson played 55 out of 67 snaps; and led Akers in touches 18-3. Henderson was a bellcow, which surprised everyone. Akers was a third-round pick this offseason while Henderson was in the 13th round.
However, Henderson has been a productive fantasy football RB when called upon. Last year in games where Henderson had a 50% Snap Share, he averaged 15.7 PPG. Henderson is the profile you should attack that you will need to spend up for, especially with the Akers manager so reliant on that production they are missing. Do not be afraid to throw a hefty bid to secure this player and keep him away from other teams.
Jaylen Warren – rostered in 1.3% of ESPN leagues. Spend up to 10% of your FAAB on Warren.
Warren is a short-term add if Najee did suffer a high ankle sprain, The reports are TBD, but if that is the case, you would be getting a rookie RB walking into a genuinely open backfield. Warren was impressive this preseason as he led rookie RBs in broken tackle rate by a substantial margin.
When looking for a profile to target, a running back who can make defenders miss is a skill to look for. Warren has the skill set to step in and give you a Najee-lite performance for a few weeks. When you are competing with the likes of Benny Snell, there is no competition for work. Pittsburgh would feed Warren. If Najee does play, grab Warren for 1% of FAAB and see how the situation shakes out.
Preseason avoided tackle rate rookie leaders:
89% — Jaylen Warren
46% — Rachaad White
43% — James Cook
40% — Dameon Pierce, Malik Willis, Trestan Ebner
39% — Hassan Haskins
33% — Tyler Allgeier, Jerome Ford
25% — TDP
22% — Breece Hall
16% — Isiah Pacheco
15% — Isaiah Spiller— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 23, 2022
Robbie Anderson – rostered in 37.8% of ESPN leagues. Spend up to 8% of your FAAB on Anderson.
After a historically inefficient season with Sam Darnold last season, Robbie was back leading the Panthers in snaps, routes run, and targets. For a player contemplating retirement in the offseason, it looks like Mr. Anderson made the correct choice.
Seeing the number of targets Anderson did is impressive for a team that only passed the ball 22 times. At this pace, Anderson will eclipse 90+ targets for the seventh consecutive season. Grab Anderson while he still reminds fantasy football managers of the 2021 debacle.
Sure looks like Robbie Anderson is happy the #Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield after all.pic.twitter.com/VEdlhLLmZy
— PlayerProfiler NFL (@Profiler_NFL) September 11, 2022
Curtis Samuel – rostered in 8.5% of ESPN leagues. Spend up to 5% of your FAAB on Samuel.
Samuel was electric and looked like the 2020 version of himself; who was the WR27 in fantasy football. Washington deployed Samuel all over the field and even had him run the ball four times for 17 yards.
While Curtis Samuel saw work on the ground (a trend throughout his career) – and yes, he is no Deebo Samuel – but he is the closest thing you will see to him on the waiver wire. Any WR who sees usage in the rushing game gets a slight boost, as you can pencil in a slightly higher floor. Samuel led Washington in targets and was second in carries on Sunday.
Kenneth Gainwell – rostered in 29.1% of ESPN leagues. Spend up to 5% of your FAAB on Gainwell.
Kenneth Gainwell has been a late-round flier for many this offseason. He looks locked in as the #2 back in Philly. Where the upside lies with Gainwell is on 3rd down and two-minute work. On Sunday, Gainwell saw the majority of such work.
In fantasy football PPR leagues, he can provide value as a last-minute RB2/flex play. If an injury were to happen to Miles Sanders (that’s Sanders thing), Gainwell would jump to the top of the list. Gainwell is the type of pass-catching back-to-target with a path to an even more significant role.
Rex Burkhead – rostered in 17.4% of leagues. Spend up to 3% of your FAAB on Burkhead
Sexy Rexy is back! Well, at least for the time being. However, I don’t think there was a more surprising lead back than Rex Burkhead in Week 1. With the hype coming out on Pierce this offseason, I did not expect to see Rex lead in practically every category.
I am not sure how long Burkhead can hold onto the current role, but it is worth throwing a few bucks to see how it plays out. Worst case, you are getting the passing downs back on a team expected to be in multiple negative game scripts this season.
Logan Thomas – rostered in 4.9% of leagues. Spend up to 2% of your FAAB on Thomas.
It is another year, and the fantasy football tight-end landscape looks as abysmal as ever. Suppose you were lucky enough to grab an elite player at the position; congrats on having a difference-maker. However, for the unfortunate souls chasing tight-end production, please go out and grab Logan Thomas.
Thomas saw five targets in his first game back from an ACL tear. The snap share, routes run, and targets will trend as he acclimates himself back to the football field. Remember, in 2020, Thomas was the TE5 in fantasy football. Another top 12 finish is within the range of outcomes for Thomas.
Jesse Moeller
Jesse Moeller is a fascinating character. By day, he's a restaurant manager, but during his free time, he transforms into a fantasy football analyst. He's been playing fantasy football since 1999, which means he's been around the block a few times. But his passion for the game has never waned. Jesse is a devoted husband to his wife Andrea, whom he's been married to for five years. They have a lovely daughter Cecilia, who is now four years old. Jesse's journey into content creation began with The League Winners in 2021, and he hasn't looked back since. Dynasty is his passion, and his love for the game is infectious. Jesse is a true degenerate who loves the fantasy football and the community that supports it.